It's my 8 month old daughter's name and I love it. I am really happy with our decision and have had lots of compliments on her name so far.

Some of my reasons for picking it were that to me it is a strong 'grown up' name while still being feminine. Funny that people are saying it sounds 'frilly' to them - I don't see this, although I think Gabriella is more girly. It is recognisable so (hopefully) easy for most people to spell & pronounce, but not too poplar. It also has lots of good nickname options, as pp; I know Gabby is a bit controversial & many people seem to dislike it, but we like it, although Gabs seems to be emerging as her most usual nn and sometimes Gib-Gab. I do like Ellie too.

Regarding the sib-set issue; I think that it is best just to pick good names; your children will only be defined as part of a set for a small part of their life, but they will carry their name for all their life.

Gabrielle was also one of the VERY few names that my husband & I agreed on; my top pick was actually Astrid, nn Didi, but hubby vetoed it (as I did many of his suggestions). My signature includes a lot of my other shortlisted options, which may be of interest?

Good luck with your choice, I'm interested to see what you pick!

November 21st, 2012, 08:31 AM

lavendyr

Aww nice to hear from someone w/ a sweet little girl named this! I had actually never heard of people disliking Gabby until this thread so it's interesting how everyone has dif taste. I've never met anyone in real life with this name though.

I also really like your point about the sibsets. I've been so fixated on making sure the names sound perfect together when really, they are separate people and will live totally separate lives!

November 21st, 2012, 11:02 AM

spring13

I just named my DD Gabriella, nn Gabby :) (well, really Gavriella, but you know). So clearly i think its awesome, and i've only gotten positive reactions.

November 21st, 2012, 11:05 AM

bellarina

Like Gabrielle but I strongly dislike the nn gabby :/. And I'm
Not a fan of having to avoid the most common nn's for a name. It can be done for sure, but it's a hassle that I just don't want to deal with personally. I know you said you liked the nn so then Gabrielle is definitely doable
For toy. But honestly I find gabby to be harsh and reminds me of talking a lot :/

November 21st, 2012, 12:03 PM

lavendyr

Seems irrelevant now since husband says he hates Gabrielle! UGH. What do you do w/ a husband that hates every name suggested! I'm keeping it on the list in case she's born on Christmas (due Dec 23) would be a nice Christmas name.

November 21st, 2012, 12:13 PM

uselesskitty

Gabrielle is a name that I really love even though it goes against so many things I don't normally like. I normally don't like names that end in elle/ella. I don't care for many french names. I don't like biblical names. I don't like Brielle on its own. I normally don't care for name what start with the letter G all that much (except for Gemma, Gideon and a few others).

November 21st, 2012, 12:24 PM

thuja

I like Gabrielle, but do prefer the full name rather than any of its nicknames. My main problem with Gabrielle is remembering how each of my friends with the name pronounces it--some say Goh-bre-elle (like the "o" in hot), others, Gah-bre-elle (like the "a" in cat). I know a few of them and have had to really work to keep their preference straight in my mind.

November 21st, 2012, 05:08 PM

lrmum

Oh, the husband factor. I feel your pain!
Mine drove me nuts, saying no to everything but making very few suggestions of his own. In the end I made a list of my top five names and then left five blank spaces below for my husband to add his (he couldn't come up with that many). We were then allowed to veto anything we really really hated and that left us with 2/3 final contenders including Gabrielle (my preference). I must admit in the end I reminded him that our first daughter's name was really 'his' pick so maybe it was my turn for final say.

November 21st, 2012, 05:11 PM

lavendyr

thanks for the tip! I will try that...no way he could come up with 5! ha